title: Human embryonic stem cell-derived hematoendothelial progenitors engraft chicken embryos.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether human embryonic stem cells (hESC) committed in culture into hematopoietic/endothelial cell progenitors can be further developed into mature blood and vascular cells following transplantation into chicken embryos.
  
  
  METHODS
  The yolk sac of 42- to 44-hour chicken embryos received yolk sac injections of unfractionated human embryoid body (hEB) cells, CD34-positive hEB cells, or CD34+CD45+ granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized human peripheral blood hematopoietic stem-progenitor cells. Human cells in the host were detected by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All injected cell populations engrafted chicken hematopoietic organs, as assessed by detection of CD45+ cells in the spleen, bursa of Fabricius, and thymus. CD34+ day -10 hEB cells showed the highest efficiency for producing human CD45+ cells in the hosts and yielded human glycophorin A+ erythroid, CD13+ myeloid, and CD19+ lymphoid cells in the spleen and bursa of Fabricius. Spleen cells from chimeric embryos also contained human colony-forming units-granulocyte macrophage, as assessed in methylcellulose colony-forming assays. Human endothelial cells expressing vascular endothelial-cadherin, von Willebrand factor, CD31, and the receptor for the Ulex europaeus lectin were also observed in the yolk sac vasculature following injection of either unfractionated or CD34+ day -10 hEB cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Primitive angiohematopoietic stem cells (total and CD34+ day -10 hEB cells) as well as adult hematopoietic stem cells could home to intraembryonic blood-forming organs following injection into the yolk sac. These observations demonstrate the utility of the avian embryo as a convenient and reliable host to model the angiohematopoietic development of human embryonic, or other early stem cells.
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell Research Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Tea Soon
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Elias T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Zambidis
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lucitti
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Logar
authors.forename: Bradley B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Péault
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000943:Antigens, Differentiation / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002460:Cell Line; D002642:Chick Embryo; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000502:physiology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D015017:Yolk Sac / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000943:Antigens, Differentiation